As protesters arrived on site and attempted to close the main gate, 10 security guards and site manager Amos Or quickly emerged from the warehouse. One protester was punched in the face, and the guards then locked the gate to prevent the protesThis afternoon 8 protesters from JAGUAR (Jews And Gentiles Undermining Apartheid Regime) attempted to blockade the main UK warehouse of Israeli agricultural produce exporter Carmel Agrexco. The action was the latest in a three year campaign against Carmel Agrexco aiming to disrupt and expose their illegal activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As protesters arrived on site and attempted to close the main gate, 10 security guards and site manager Amos Or quickly emerged from the warehouse. One protester was punched in the face, and the guards then locked the gate to prevent the protestors from entering.

Shortly after, 6 police cars and 2 police vans arrived. As the protesters were leaving the area, all were stopped and searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

One of the protesters Steve Discombe said, “I could not believe the amount of police there, it was ridiculous. Carmel also had much more security than usual, they are clearly running scared.”

Carmel Agrexco, half owned by the Israeli state, is Israel's largest exporter of agricultural produce to the European Union. Much of its fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs and other produce is grown and packed on illegal Israeli settlements. The company is thus complicit in war crimes under the International Criminal Court Act 2001. Carmel Agrexco is a major supplier to UK supermarkets including Marks and Spencer and Tescos.